Disclaimer: I don't own House or any of its characters.
A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! You are wonderful. Now on with the story.
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"Mama, can we have dinner with Daddy?" Sophia was sitting buckled up in the shotgun seat of my little red Toyota truck. She had immediately woken up when we had gotten to the car only to pester me with questions.
"I don't know sweetie." I put the key in the ignition and listen to the engine turn over and turn on.
"Please!" she was whining now.
"He's probably very busy." My side is vibrating. What in the world is…oh it's my cell phone. I pull it out of my pocket and check to see who's calling, its James.
"Hey." I say as I answering the phone.
"Hey it's me James." His voice was clear over the line.
"What's up?"
"Have you left yet?"
"I'm actually sitting in the parking lot with my car on."
He laughs, "Great I caught you before you left. I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner. You and Sophia."
"That would be wonderful, Sophia was just saying she wanted to have dinner with you."
Sophia turns and looks at me a hopeful look on her face, "Is that Daddy? Can I talk to him?" she reaches with both hands for the phone.
"One minute sweetie," I say to Sophia and then go back to talking to James, "Where are we going?"
"We can take my car." There is a tap at my window and I turn my head and see James standing there with a cell phone pressed to his ear.
"Daddy!" My daughter squeals at the sight of her father and I roll down the window.
"So, dinner?"
God, he has a charming smile.
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James left it up to Sophia to choose the place for dinner and now we were sitting at the wonderful restaurant, McDonald's. We had finished our food but hadn't left yet because Sophia was playing on the play place outside she was having a ball.
"I guess I should have expected this." James says in an amused tone and a smile on his handsome face. I can't be falling for him all over again.
"Every six year old thinks McDonald's is the best place on earth, it has hamburgers and a place to play on." I reply with a smile.
His smile drops and his face becomes serious, "Did you raise Sophia alone?" that's why he looked serious, he was asking personal questions.
"Yeah I did." I answer, my own smile gone, "It was hard but it was wonderful."
"I wish…" he drifts of and for a moment I'm not sure he was going to keep on talking, "I've missed a lot haven't I?"
I sigh and lean forward in the both bracing my arms on the table, "Yes you have and it's my entire fault. I truly am sorry for that."
"But?"
"I wouldn't give up what it was like raising her for the world. I love Sophia with all my heart. She is everything to me."
James smiles lightly a wistful look on his face, "I just wish I could have been a part of it is all."
Could this man be any more wonderful?
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"Why the hell not Jess!" James angrily whispers at me.
He isn't so wonderful right now.
We were now sitting in James's Volvo as he parked in front of the hotel I was staying at. Sophia is asleep in the back seat, sucking on her thumb. Everything had been going fine until he announced that he wanted to do some tests on me. I of course told him no, that the oncologist I had seen had already told me I was going to die. There was no need for him to do the exact same test and find the exact same thing but most likely more of it now. He was simply not taking no for an answer.
"It's my choice." I whisper getting out of the car quietly shutting the door and then opening the back door. I unbuckle Sophia and pick her up without waking her up; she must have had a lot of fun today if she wasn't waking up now. I begin to walk towards the door of the hotel.
"Jess, please." the tone in his voice causes me to look back at him he was rushing to catch up with me. I make eye contact with him and the sorrow in his eyes is almost too painful for me to look at.
I take a shuddering breath and put my hand on the door handle, "Fine." I open the door and leave as quickly as I can without jostling Sophia.
How the hell can this man make me say yes? I really don't want to take these tests again. I hated that stupid MRI machine of doom. Have you ever noticed that on any doctor show that's when everything goes wrong with the patient? What if that happens to me? What if something goes horribly wrong? What if I have seizure? Why I would have a seizure I have no idea but it's still something that could go wrong.
That's too many 'what ifs' if you ask me.
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The next day I spend doing all the tests I did last time and then some at PPTH. Nothing bad happened when I did the MRI, thank god. I think James did every test on me that he could think of. James was taking care of Sophia while I did all the tests, I didn't want her anywhere near that. I was on my way to pick her up and head back to the hotel for the night.
What was that? Stopping I back track to Dr. House's office and I see what I had thought I had seen.
Dr. House was watching Sophia.
Actually to be more exact Sophia was sitting on Dr. House's lap while he helped her play with his PSP. It's actually really sweet seeing the normally grumpy man help my six year old daughter play with his most likely very expensive PSP. I open the door to the office and enter only gaining Dr. House's attention, Sophia's was still glued to the PSP.
"Took you damn well long enough." Dr. House basically growls at me.
Sophia drags her eyes from the PSP up to my face and smiles, "Mama! Look what Dr. House let me play with." She holds up the PSP for me to look at, "I want it!"
"That's mine. I'm only letting you play with it right now." Dr. House grumbles as he picks Sophia up and places her on the ground beside the chair.
"Where's James?" I ask.
"Well, that crazy man had patients to take care of your tests took a lot longer then planned." He sits up and spins his cane, "So he shoved your little brat onto me."
I glare at him, "Thank you for watching her."
"Mama," Sophia tugs on my hand, "Can I have one of these?" once again she shows me the PSP.
"Sweetie that belongs to Dr. House why don't you return it to him." She pouts but turns and does what I ask.
"Come on lets go. Once again thank you."
"Don't ever do it again cause damnit, I'm a doctor not a babysitter!" He says with a shake of his fist.
Smiling I leave the office as his ducklings arrive with what looks like to be the charts of one of his patients.
He was one odd man.
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TBC
A/N: Here I go still writing. Kind of a boring chapter I know, but it's gonna get more dramatic later. Thanks for reading it and please review it'll help me update. Thanks.